Search the digital library catalog

Abstract: The paper serves to discuss the evolution of platform business models in tourism, the dynamics of market concentration, and regulatory interventions. We present the historical timeline of digitalization in tourism distribution models, starting from the Global Distribution Systems (GDS), and continuing with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and their market concentration in the duopoly of Expedia Group versus Booking Holdings Group. We continue to discuss the slow, yet uncertain, breaking of the global duopoly in the travel platforms market. On the one hand, the duopoly is challenged from the “bottom up”, where Airbnb is the most successful example, riding on the wave of popularity of the ideals of the “sharing economy” and the aftermaths of the 2008 global financial crisis. On the other hand, the duopoly is challenged from the “top down”—the most powerful digital players have started to extend their operations to tourism. The second section of the paper identifies three current areas of platformization in tourism operations—distribution, promotion and HRM. We analyze available industry and public statistics indicators in Europe for each of the three dimensions. Finally, we discuss the regulatory responses to the market concentration of travel distribution platforms. Although the challenge of market concentration is a global issue, and the threats are the same in many countries, we limit the discussion of regulation to the European context. In conclusion we discuss the possibilities of future development, and point to the threat of the further acceleration and interconnection of platformization and market concentration in the travel business.
Keywords: travel platforms, market concentration regulation, online travel agencies, Global Distribution Systems, Expedia, Booking.com, Airbnb, Tripadvisor, Google Travel, algorithmic management
Published in DKUM: 14.10.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 6
Full text (1,55 MB)
This document has many files! More...

Abstract: The article examines consumer protection in the electricity market, focusing on vulnerable customers and the right to emergency supply. At EU level, it outlines the development from the energy legislative packages to Directive (EU) 2019/944, which strengthens consumer rights and requires Member States to define and protect vulnerable groups. In Slovenia, these issues are regulated by Article 33 of the Electricity Supply Act (ZOEE), implemented through the System Operating Instructions (SONDSEE) and the Energy Agency’s act on criteria for ensuring emergency supply. The article applies normative and comparative legal analysis, reviews the Energy Agency’s Annual Reports, and analyzes case law. The findings reveal a gap between regulation and practice, as only one request for emergency supply was approved in Slovenia, in 2019. It proposes clearer criteria, simpler procedures, and more effective consumer information, particularly for vulnerable groups, to ensure the right to emergency supply is realized in practice.
Keywords: consumer protection, vulnerable customers, emergency supply, electricity market, ZOEE, Directive (EU) 2019/944, energy poverty, Energy Agency
Published in DKUM: 01.10.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 6
Link to file

Abstract: Investment funds are among the effective instruments in the capital market that are established by banks and brokerage companies and play an effective role in developing the market and increasing investor participation. They are generally classified as low-risk instruments suitable for direct participation by less experienced investors. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to examine the efficiency and sustainability of active investment funds in the Iranian capital market and the position of the funds in attracting investors in 125 investment funds from 2014 to the end of 2023. Also, the research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. The method of collecting information in theoretical foundations is the library method and in the section of testing hypotheses, the method of document mining of financial statements.Excel software was used in the process of data preparation, modification, and processing, and Eviews software, version 11, was used to calculate descriptive and inferential statistics. The research hypotheses were tested using regression analysis and a mixed data approach. The results of the study indicate that the efficiency and sustainability of active investment funds in the Iranian capital market are positively and significantly related to investor attraction and its position.
Keywords: return, sustainability, active investment funds, Iranian capital market, attracting investors
Published in DKUM: 25.08.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 3
Full text (1,52 MB)
This document has many files! More...

Abstract: Some platforms in the collaborative economy offer a combination of sectoral and information society services, which characterises them as a hybrid entity. The concurrent provision of disparate types of services necessitates the determination of the predominant activity of a given platform on a case-by-case basis. This, in turn, gives rise to legal uncertainty and inconsistent case law at the national level. This paper examines the impact of the choice of institutional alternatives in the context of multilevel governance in the EU on the legal status of collaborative economy business models such as Uber and Airbnb in the EU single market. The paper employs a mixed-methods research approach to analyse pivotal jurisprudential decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and national courts. It reaches the conclusion that the Airbnb platform, in its capacity as an information society service provider, is subject to the provisions of the Electronic Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC). Conversely, Uber, by virtue of its definition as a transport undertaking, is subject to shared jurisdiction between EU institutions and Member States in the field of transport services. This paper initiates a discussion on the suitability of the extant regulatory apparatus and underscores the necessity for the establishment of an appropriate institutional framework, either centralised at the EU level or decentralised at the level of Member States, that would provide substantive rules aimed at comprehensively regulating the legal status of hybrid business models, thus allowing for more uniform conditions for their operation in the EU single market.
Keywords: collaborative economy, collaborative platform, EU single market, multilevel governance, the separation-of-powers principles
Published in DKUM: 21.08.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 6
Full text (336,60 KB)

Abstract: This paper aims to examine how the gig economy, as a global trend that is transforming labour markets worldwide, manifests itself in a smaller economy such as Slovenia. Specifically, the paper focuses on how this trend is manifested among Slovenian freelancers, with an emphasis on generational differences. Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Chi-square test, were used in the study to explore perceptions and generational differences and to determine whether they are statistically significant. The results show that both younger and older individuals are likely to choose freelance work due to the need for flexibility and independence in project selection, reflecting their desire for greater control over their personal and professional lives. In addition, the research reveals a perception of insufficient support for such new types of careers and a need for educational programmes to improve skills and awareness of the digital labour market. The findings suggest the need for targeted policy measures to support freelancers of different age groups by implementing comprehensive government programs that promote lifelong learning and upskilling, enable the development of local coworking spaces, provide digital market information and include entrepreneurship education and digital literacy in school curricula to strengthen freelance careers, making them sustainable and contributing economically to regional development.
Keywords: gig economy, freelancers, generational differences, flexibility, digital market
Published in DKUM: 24.07.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 3
Full text (360,70 KB)